Falling will bring you down
by demi596b
Summary: Artemis is too strong to give up after Wally's death. She doesn't need revenge. But will one more push knock her down?
1. New beginnings

He was gone. Her lover. Her companion. Her partner. It had been a little over two weeks since his death. But she knew Wally wouldn't want her giving up on everything because of him. She continued to be a hero but as Tigress. She was also going to continue going to school. People would ask about her companion. Of course, she couldn't reveal the fact that Wally was Kid Flash and died to save the world, so Nightwing had come up with an alternative. Wally was killed in a car crash. It irked her a bit, but Artemis knew that the world couldn't know about Wally West's sacrifice. She couldn't blame anyone for his death. He chose to go to the arctic to help Barry and Bart. They couldn't slow down. Wally wouldn't let them. The Light was the one to blame for the whole ordeal. They were the ones who brought the Reach to earth and started the attacks. Even though Wally's death wasn't their doing, they had to be stopped. Because this was a war. Lives would always be lost. And the only way to end it, was to end _them._

…

**Watchtower - July 7th 19:16**

_*Recognizing. Tigress. B07*_

The computer announced her name as she entered the Watchtower. The whole team except for Robin, Bumblebee and Mal was there. The first two weeks she made sure to arrive last so she couldn't hear the computer announce _Kid Flash_ when Bart entered. It felt weird and was a bit painful for her. She was starting to get over it, but continued being late. It had become an unavoidable habit.

"Good. Now that we are all here, we can begin the briefing." Kaldur announced. He turned around to access the holo-computer. The screen popped up showing a map of Santa Prisca and another map of Bialya next to it.

"High levels of Boom Tube activity have been indicated in Bialya and Santa Prisca. Queen Bee has changed her base now that the previous one has no more use to the Light so this will be our chance to uncover her new base as well as find out what the Light is delivering to Bialya and Santa Prisca. Bane is still in command of Santa Prisca so it is quite possible a member of the Light will supervise and receive whatever is coming through the boom tube. Alpha Squad will be Batgirl, Miss Martian, Tigress and Wonder girl. You four will investigate Bialya. This is an all female squad because of the risk of Queen Bee being there. The rest of us will be Beta squad in Santa Prisca. And remember, recon first. We need to find out what they are planning before we apprehend them." After the short mission brief, the girls headed to the bio ship and the boys to the zeta tube to access the Supercycle.

…**.**

**Bioship - July 7th 19:29 **

"ETA, 10 minutes" Miss Martian stated, her eyes on the screen which displayed Kaldur's face.

"Good. We will also be arriving shortly. If you spot Bialyan soldiers at the site, make sure you follow them to uncover Queen Bee's base. Return to the Watchtower when you are finished."

"Will do" Miss M reassured him. The screen closed leaving the girls in silence. None of them wanted to start any awkward conversations. They all went through a hard few months and Wally's recent death didn't help the situation. Artemis knew how the other girls felt. She knew that they didn't want to start any conversations about their boyfriends to avoid making her feel bad. She knew that the reason they never asked her how she felt to be a hero again or how they never said welcome back was because they didn't want to remind her of how her life changed from being happy with Wally to losing him and being a hero again. But she was over it. She accepted the fact that he was gone and decided to continue her life happily like e would have wanted her to. She decided to start a conversation and show them that she was fine.

" Um, so… Where are Mal and Karen today?" she asked lightly. They stared at her for a moment before smiling.

"Well, I think they went out for dinner or something. And Robin is in Gotham." Cassie replied joyfully. She had an obvious blush on her face when she mentioned Robin. Their relationship had become quite obvious. Artemis smiled at the girl thinking how happy she must have been. It reminded her of the day Wally had first kissed her. She had felt her heart racing as his face neared hers. She hardly knew Cassie. She had left the team shortly after she joined.

" Artemis… How-.. How are you feeling?" M'gann asked her through the mind link so the other girls couldn't hear,with a sympathetic look on her face.

" M'gann. I'm fine." Artemis didn't hesitate to answer and gave her friend a reassuring smile. " We talked about it a few days ago. I'm okay now."

"Okay. But if you _ever_ need anything-"

"I know M'gann. Thanks."

M'gann turned her gaze from Artemis to the Bioship's window up front, announcing that they had arrived as they started to land.

**(A/N) Sorry for not updating. I've started fresh now which will make the story flow easier. **


	2. Taking action

**Did any of you get any notifications that chapter 1 is up? I re-did the story so chapter 1 is different. If you haven't received any notification, go read it now.**

**Santa Prisca - July 7th 19:30**

The Supercycle had just landed and Beta Squad was already on their way to Bane's base. Kaldur up front leading them. His leadership skills never ceased to function adequately. The plan was for the group to stay together since they didn't have Miss Martian to provide a mind link and they didn't ant the risk of their radio frequency being hacked. Kladur's mind drifted to their first mission in Santa Prisca. They had destroyed Bane's factory along with all his Venom supply. Of course, he had built another base over the years, making more venom. He was brought out of his thoughts as they neared their destination.

"Superboy, scan the area and see what we're up against" he commanded.

Superboy scanned the area with his in fared vision. After a moment, he answered, saying that the area was filled with Bane's troops along with Deathstroke and Bane.

"If Deathsroke is still here, then that would mean that whatever came through the boom tube is still here too. Beast Boy, Kid Flash. You two go see if you can find anything out of the ordinary. Without getting caught."

Kid Flash zoomed off while Beast Boy turned into a small lizard before running off to the factory leaving Blue Beetle, Static, Superboy and Aqualad to each others company.

"So Static. How's the hero life working out for you" Blue Beetle asked in a whispering tone, smiling at the boy; because he knew how it was to be new.

"It's pretty cool. I can't help but smile whenever I'm in the same room as a Leaguer".

"_Tell _me about it" Blue Beetle replied cheerfully.

As the two newest members of the team were caught in a fanboy conversation, Superboy approached Kaldur.

" I don't think I've mentioned it, in light of recent events, but it _is_ great to have you back Kaldur. Things were very… different without you."

"I am also glad to be back my friend. And it was certainly difficult fighting against all of you, instead of beside you. "

Their conversation was interrupted by Bart who had just returned. "Turns out their delivery is from Apokolips. I couldn't get in too close to see exactly what's in the crates because their too heavily guarded."

Beast Boy then approached the group, shifting back to his regular form. "Some of them are weapons. But a lot more than other times."

"Yeah. And bigger too. So are the containers." Bart added.

"We'll need a distraction. Kid Flash, Blue Beetle. Take out as many guards as you can. Superboy. Take care of Bane. Beast boy, Static. You will examine those crates. See if you can find anything which is notably unusual. I'll handle Deathstroke. Are we all clear on our tasks?" Kaldur scanned the group and received a nod from each of them. "Good. Go!"

Kid Flash was the first to take off. He ran into 7 guards, knocking them all out. Blue Beetle flew up and used his sonic cannon on a group of guards. Beast boy and Static ran through the chaos avoiding any guards. Bane activated his venom while Deathstroke drew out his sword. Bane was then tackled by Superboy and Deathstroke turned around quickly to see Kaldur emerging from the trees, water bearers in hand, shaped as swords.

"Ah Kaldur'ahm. So nice to see you again."

"I cannot say I agree." He replied before he strikes Deathstroke with his sword. He evaded and answered by thrashing his own sword in Kaldur's direction. He evaded his attacks while using his own weapons to defend himself and take offensive. Their swords clashed. Meanwhile Superboy was being thrust into a wall by Bane. Bane then threw him into one of the metal crates. It was strong enough to not even crack from the impact. Bane advanced towards Superboy but was intercepted by Blue Beetle whose hands were formed as a battering then flew off and attacked a few more guards, leaving Superboy to knock out Bane with a punch to the face. Bart circled around a few guards, knocking them out one by one. Meanwhile Static and Beast boy examined the crates in the factory. They entered a computer room, knocking out the guard who was sitting at the computer.

"Now what?" Virgil asked the younger boy.

"Beats me" he shrugged. He took a seat in front of a computer screen and looked at it with a confused expression on his face as he typed random passwords, only to get errors.

"If only we had Robin with us" He said in a disconcerted tone.

"Come on. We can't do anything here so we should just keep looking through those crates."

Outside, Aqualad was still struggling with Deathstroke while KF,BB and Superboy were handling the remaining guards.

"You know that I'm a bit upset that you took me out before your little _grand_ finale with the Light and the Reach. I had to miss out on all the fun of killing you and _Tigress._ I guess I''ll have to wait for the chance to get my revenge. I _could_ kill you now, but those aren't my orders. He stuck Kaldur with one more punch, knocking him to the ground. He pulled out a trigger from his utility belt. He pressed it and Bane's whole factory burst into flames. Bane had just regained consciousness to see his factory getting destroyed(again).

"You!? What have you done?!"

"Just carrying out my orders" Deathstroke then pulled out a mother box and opened a boom tube under that crates that were sitting outside. He then opened a boom tube under himself and disappeared from the battle zone. Kaldur then activated his comm-link and ordered the team to retreat to the Supercycle. As the Supercycle took off, all five heroes wondered the same thing. "What just happened?!" Bart was the first to ask.

"I'm not sure. It seems Deathstroke betrayed Bane. But why?" Kaldur stated in a calm voice while in a pensive state. "Static, what did you and Beast boy find in the factory?"

"Well we couldn't access any of the computers so we searched the entire building for anything unusual- or, _more_ unusual than we're used to, but the only things in the crates inside were Bane's venom."

"The crates outside had apocalyptic there were so many. Like they were about to start a huge war."

"I see. We need to warn the League that the Light is making it's next move soon." Kaldur just hopes that the girls were doing better than them.

….

**Bialya - July 7th 20:03**

The explosion rung in her ears. She lifted her head to see Wonder girl in a fist fight with Devastation, M'gann throwing anything she could find at Mammoth, who was in full rage after his sister had been knocked out and Batgirl was trying to avoid getting frozen by Icicle Jr. Artemis herself, had been knocked down by an explosion. She turned around to see one of the bases' buildings on fire. She stared at it inquisitively for a moment, wondering why it had been blown up. She then got on her feet, a bit shaken but fine overall. She'd been through worse. She grabbed her crossbow and fired two bolts at Icicle Jr. They both hit his shoulder and he was suddenly engulfed in foam. Batgirl approached her and mentioned something about being grateful that Tigress was on their side. She then sprinted towards one of the two remaining buildings to get any information she could on the Light's delivery. As Artemis advanced to assist M'gann and Cassie, she felt a familiar nauseating feeling over her. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was. She turned around to see Psimon with an evil grin on his face. She strived to grab her crossbow, only to be intercepted by Psimon using his telekinesis to lift her off the ground and ram her onto the floor. "I think we should finish where we left off." His smile widened each time he rammed her into the wall. She then felt him enter her mind. She winced in pain as he mind blasted her. She fought back. She wouldn't let him win. She was relieved of pain when Batgirl hit Psimon on the back of his head. Artemis got up as soon as she fell to the ground. Batgirl offered her a hand which she accepted.

"So did you find anything?" Artemis asked while rubbing her head.

"I couldn't find any information on their plans. But I _did_ find out why they blew that building. It turns out each building had a different network. So there was different kinds of data and info in each building. I guess they didn't want us finding out what information they had on the C block's computers."

"What did you find in the other buildings?"

"Just that they were expecting a a weapons delivery in Santa Prisca and a different delivery here. But I couldn't find out what."

All of a sudden they heard Cassie scream as she was thrown towards them by Devastation. They jumped out of the way as the girl landed. The floor cracked slightly beneath her. Tigress saw Devastation approaching the now unconscious Wonder girl and shot a few trick bolts at her. She slapped the all to the side, avoiding any damage. Batgirl had disappeared (probably to hack any remaining computers) a while ago which left Tigress to fend of Devastation alone. When her trick bolts didn't work on Devastation, she used the normal,pointy ones. The first few missed but she eventually hit her in the shoulder. The arrow sinking in her skin. As she was distracted by this injury Artemis fired another at her left leg to cripple her and finally a foam arrow to hold her down. Wonder girl had just regained consciousness. She saw Devastation on the ground and knocked her out with one final blow to the face. The two girls turned around to see M'gann and Batgirl finishing their fight with Mammoth. But he eventually gets away with Shimmer. M'gann suddenly flew off without warning. She entered the A block building which was the largest out of the three. They were in an isolated area of the desert which was now Queen Bee's (self proclaimed) land in which she would build her base. There was a large wall around the perimeter of the base with her soldiers guarding it. As M'gann entered the building she mentally scanned for Queen Bee since she felt her presence earlier. She was joined by Batgirl who had examined the building earlier. Barbara showed M'gann a secret entrance she had found earlier and they entered it together. M'gann suddenly lost the feeling of Queen Bees presence.

"I'm getting boom tube activity readings" M'gann turned her gaze to Batgirl who had already started scanning the area with her holo-computer.

"They're high levels which means it opened up a moment before we got here. It must have been her escape route."

"Ok. Let's get back to the bishop and report to Kaldur on what we found."

The two girls exited the building to find Cassie leaning on Artemis for support.

"Can you stand?" She asked the younger blonde.

"Yeah. I think I'll be ok." She attempted to stand but winced as she put down her right foot. She tried to fly, but realized she was too weak from her injuries.

"Alright. Maybe I _could_ use _some_ help." Artemis smirked and put Cassie's arm around her neck as she helped her back to the bioship.

"You're gonna have to let someone take a look at that leg when we get back to the watchtower." Batgirl ordered as theory entered the bioship. She knew that Cassie would be too stubborn to get it checked.

"Guys. Really. I'm fine. I'll be up and running by tomorrow."

"If that were the case, I wouldn't have had to carry you all the way back to the bioship." Cassie's cheeks flushed from embarrassment and she laughed nervously. Artemis replied with a small laugh as they set off to the Watchtower where Kaldur was waiting.

…..

**Unknown base - July 7th 20:16**

"Everything went according to plan. The heroes know nothing of the real delivery from Apokolyps and all the evidence in Bane's base was destroyed." Deathstroke announced as he entered the room. Vandal Savage stood in the middle with the images of the rest of the Light on holograms.

"Perfect. And what of you're base Queen Bee?" He glanced towards the screen on which QB was on.

"The same. They know nothing of our plans or our new partner."

"Good. Deathstroke. You can have your revenge now with step 2."


End file.
